When we first meet Morris Bliss (Michael C. Hall), he's in his bed enjoying some post-coital time with Stephanie (Brie Larson), a much younger high-school student. It's late in the afternoon and Morris is eager to usher Stephanie out of the house before his father Danny (Peter Fonda) comes h...

Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games" will boast an enormous box office debut on March 23 (some are forecasting a $140 million opening). That's thanks in large part to Jennifer Lawrence's performance as Katniss Everdeen, which is earning raves. Women starved for smart entertainment aimed at them will flock...

Early on in Amy Seimetz’s “Sun Don’t Shine,” it becomes very clear that this isn’t just your average young-white-couple-with-relationship-problems-on-a-road-trip indie flick that we can come to expect from festivals like SXSW. Oh, Crystal and Leo have problems alright. And a bad relationship. And a ...

For most, the phrase “Sunset Strip” conjures up images of neon lights, sun-kissed exposed skin and long, druggy, rock and roll fueled nights. This is the conceit promised by the new documentary of the same name by Hans Fjellestad, and it (mostly) delivers, offering up a definitive history of the fam...

This year’s SXSW had a few strong themes running throughout its selections, and in the documentary category, this was seen in the numerous films about '70s rock icons such as “Paul Williams: Still Alive,” “Marley,” the preview of “Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me...

Last week during SXSW, director Drew DiNicola gave an excited Austin audience a preview of his work-in-progress film “Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me,” before a star-studded tribute concert to the beloved cult band Big Star. It was an appropriate environment for the sneak peek, as SXSW 201...

After much hype and love from the festival circuit, "The Raid: Redemption" begins rolling out into theaters this weekend. And while we saw the film at Sundance and called it a "triumph" not everyone at The Playlist office felt the same way. So here's a different take on the pulse pounding action fli...

With "The Hunger Games" arriving in theaters this weekend and expected to blow up the box office, early reviews have been very positive and anticipation has been running high. Our own review called it "an engaging, thoughtful, populist piece of entertainment that transcends gender, genre or source m...

Often the problem when making an "issue" movie, wherein you tackle some far-reaching social, systemic, or religious injustice, is that scope often becomes too burdensome, with the given topic often begging for thoughtful, intimate conversation and not the broad strokes that cinema offers. The best i...

For various scheduling reasons (Oscars, Sundance, SXSW), I wound up watching the final five episodes of "The Walking Dead" Season Two on Sunday, including the finale (review here). One of the things I hate about even the best reality television, from "Survivor" and "Project Runway" to "Top Chef" and...